Canmore Eagle Taden Rattie keeps his eyes on the puck during their AJHL game against the Okotoks Oilers at the Canmore Recreation Centre on Thursday, March 1, 2018. photo by Pam Doyle/www.pamdoylephoto.comPAM DOYLE / SunMedia

Hockey has been an emotional and physically taxing roller coaster for Taden Rattie, with more ups and down then a young man deserves in the sport.

So, with two goals in the first two games of this Alberta Junior Hockey League season, the second-year Canmore Eagles forward looks ready to prove he still has plenty more to give to the game for now and into the future.

“It’s been mentally tough. Rattie in the last five years has been through a lot,” said Eagles GM and head coach Andrew Milne, who offered the Airdrie minor hockey product a renewed chance to play the game he loves last October.

The 6-foot-4, 190 lbs. forward went from being considered a hot NHL prospect at 15 years old to almost being out of the game at 19 years old.

“It has definitely been tough, cut from teams in the (Western Hockey League), traded, I’ve been just about everywhere,” said the 6-foot-4, 190 lbs. Rattie, reflecting on his junior career.

Rattie was just 15 years old when he saw his first Alberta Junior Hockey League action. He played 53 games with the Whitecourt Wolverines in that 2014-15 campaign, registering seven goals among his 12 points and amassing 155 penalty minutes.

Even at that young age, he was a physical presence. It helped him earn a future scholarship to Western Michigan University but then he spurned the opportunity the next season to play in the Western Hockey League. That 2015-16 campaign started in Whitecourt but the Wolverines traded him to the Calgary Mustangs. Then the Red Deer Rebels came calling, as they saw him as part of their Memorial Cup team that spring with Red Deer hosting the event.w

It looked like he was on a similar path that took his older brother, Ty, to the NHL. Ty Rattie would star in the WHL, play for a Memorial Cup champion, represent Canada at the world junior championships, and become a second round pick of the St. Louis Blues.

Taden’s path would take a big detour in his draft year. The Rebels would part ways with Taden Rattie at the start of the season, sending the then 18-year-old to the Vancouver Giants. The Giants would release him at the end of the 2016-17 season.

That summer, he wasn’t attracting any WHL interest, there were no pro scouts knocking on his door, and his junior A playing rights were being tossed around with first the Portage Terriers (Manitoba Junior Hockey League) and then the La Ronge Ice Wolves (Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League) laying claim to him.

Unsure of his future, Rattie chose to stay home in Airdrie rather than leave Alberta, wondering if his hockey-playing days were over. That was until the Eagles acquired his playing rights in October.

“When I am not playing hockey, I hate it,” said Rattie, who sat out more than a month that season before taking up Milne’s offer to renew his playing career.

However, he would only get in 31 games with suspensions and injuries — including being sidelined by frostbite in his toes — taking their toll. He would finish last season with just three goals and six points to go with 108 penalty minutes.

“Watching my team out there kills me when I am not in it,” said Rattie, who did take up a leadership role off the ice. “It was definitely a tough year, with suspensions and injuries and all that.”

Now 20 years old and considering all he has gone through, no one would have thought ill of Rattie if had decided to walk away from the game this past spring. However, as Eagles GM Andrew Milne said after talking to Rattie in the team’s annual exit interviews, he could see a keen desire to prove himself behind the player’s eyes.

“He was disappointed with his year in our exit interviews,” said Milne. “He is motivated to be better. He wants to play next year and he knows he has to have a good year this year.”

Rattie admits he has plenty to prove in his final year of junior hockey. His immediate plans are to impress Canadian University scouts and coaches with a renewed belief that his competitive hockey playing days are far from but also with a maturity to plan when they do finally end.

“Personally, I am looking for a good year,” said Rattie. “I am trying to bounce back and turn a new leaf.

“I definitely pushed hard this summer, worked on my goals, and it’s going to be a good year.”

With two goals in two games, it is so far so good for Rattie and the Canmore Eagles.